Gaochun’s appeal has exceeded many people’s expectations.

With a total investment of 12.2 billion yuan, the signing ceremony for Gaochun’s major projects has concluded, covering the “4+2” key industries, including medical devices, high-end equipment manufacturing, automotive parts, and new materials.

For Gaochun, GuChuan United has been a steadfast partner for six years, witnessing the city’s rapid development and significant leap in urban vitality.

At the signing ceremony, Dong Chuanchuan, Executive Vice President of GuChuan United, was invited to deliver a speech, sharing his impressions of Gaochun from three perspectives: its unparalleled ecological environment, its robust business environment, and its rapidly evolving industrial clustering.

As a key investment promotion partner of the Gaochun Economic Development Zone, the firm has provided over 300 pieces of effective project information to the zone, facilitating the signing and establishment of nearly 20 high-quality projects within the industry, including Mitchell Machinery, Winoc Machine Tools, Leo Electronics, and Shenzhen Anjian Technology.

Through the precise recommendations of Jingguan Lianhang, Gaochun Economic Development Zone has gained a new asset. With a total investment of 109 million yuan, Jiangsu Orient Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. has established operations in the zone, with an expected annual output value of 100 million yuan and tax revenue of 10 million yuan.

An International Slow City, Yet Rapid in Development

Gaochun is a small town located at the southernmost tip of Nanjing.

As China’s first “International Slow City,” its urban development is far from “slow”; instead, it has forged its own “fast-paced” trajectory.

Situated at the southwestern tip of Jiangsu Province, at the junction of Jiangsu and Anhui, it has long been regarded as Nanjing’s “Southern Gateway.” It also serves as an important satellite city of Nanjing and the “Southern Pole” in the city’s “One Axis, Two Poles” urban development layout.

Renowned far and wide as an “International Slow City,” Gaochun possesses the inherent “genetic makeup” for developing the medical device and health and wellness industries.

Leveraging its unique geographical advantages and industrial infrastructure, the Gaochun Economic and Technological Development Zone has emphasized the “dual-engine drive” of advanced manufacturing and modern services, successfully attracting three major local listed companies: Red Sun, Red Beauty, and Gaotao.

At the same time, it has attracted well-known enterprises such as Ford Motor Company (U.S.), Uni-President Enterprises (Taiwan), Guansheng Auto Parts, Lepu Medical Technology, and Yonghe Polymer Materials to establish operations there, forming three major industrial clusters: high-end equipment manufacturing, energy-saving and environmentally friendly new materials, and biopharmaceuticals and medical devices.

In particular, to foster high-level development of the medical device industry, the Gaochun Economic Development Zone has designated the Nanjing Medical Device Industrial Park as a key platform. It is focusing on core areas of the medical device sector, with a priority on high-value consumables, in vitro diagnostics, and rehabilitation equipment.

Recently, the Nanjing Medical Device Industrial Park has reported a series of successes:

In 2022, the park’s tax revenue exceeded 230 million yuan; average annual sales revenue for enterprises grew by over 40%; and the number of medical device manufacturing and distribution companies reached 570.

Specifically, there are 140 medical device manufacturing enterprises and 25 enterprises above designated size; the park has been designated as a National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base and a Jiangsu Provincial Characteristic Innovation (Industrial) Demonstration Park...

While these impressive figures are undoubtedly driven by provincial and municipal policy support and the convergence of external advantages, the truly decisive factor is the clustering effect of the park’s innovation resources.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the enterprises.

Medical Devices: Technology Is Key

At the start of the year, several trends in the medical device industry are worth noting.

China now has three models of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)—a “life-saving device” conditionally approved for emergency use—and all of them are domestically produced.

Previously, domestic hospitals relied entirely on imports, as only a handful of well-known global companies were capable of producing them; this time, China has approved three models at once.

Additionally, during this year’s Two Sessions, it was proposed to vigorously support the high-end medical device industry, as well as its key technologies and core components.

This signifies that the “Chinese presence” in high-end medical devices is growing stronger.

In this instance, whether viewed from the perspective of corporate R&D influence or industrial alignment, the establishment of Jiangsu Orient Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. provides “innovative vitality” for Gaochun Economic Development Zone to achieve high-quality development.

For a long time, the high-end consumables market has been monopolized by imported brands. The advantages of foreign investment have primarily been concentrated in medical equipment that is currently ineligible for centralized procurement, as well as a small number of high-value consumables.

Therefore, the R&D of domestic high-value consumables and advanced medical equipment is of the utmost urgency. Currently, domestic substitution efforts are largely concentrated in the low-value consumables sector.

The implementation of this project is dedicated to the R&D of postoperative medical products and intraoperative consumables, aiming to lead global technological innovation in surgical products and fill the technical gaps in related domestic fields.

The project’s R&D lead has over 20 years of experience in medical device R&D and manufacturing and holds multiple product patents. During the project’s implementation phase, the team will assemble a team of highly educated R&D professionals to collaboratively develop products and achieve the production of intelligent thoracic drainage management system devices.

Additionally, the team has established industry-academia-research partnerships with several renowned universities, including Shandong University and Soochow University, to conduct research and development on various innovative medical products, some of which are world-first innovations.

In the Yangtze River Delta region, the medical device industry is developing rapidly, with active small and medium-sized enterprises and distinct regional characteristics. The domestic market share for disposable medical devices and consumables exceeds 50%, and certain sectors exhibit multi-point clustering.

Examples include endoscopes in Tonglu, Zhejiang; ophthalmic equipment in Suzhou; low-value consumables in Xuzhou; medical ultrasound in Wuxi; microwave and radiofrequency tumor hyperthermia in Nanjing; and MRI in Ningbo.

Guchuan United has not only conducted in-depth research on the market size and current application landscape of the medical device industry but has also gained a thorough understanding of medical enterprises’ practical needs regarding key factors such as location, transportation, labor costs, supporting facilities, and industrial policies.

Leveraging its extensive practical experience in investment promotion, Guchuan United has successfully facilitated the establishment of high-quality domestic and international projects—including Neusoft Medical, Planmeca, Lingze Medical, Lanruan Intelligence, Nandao Technology, and Anjian Technology—in the Gaochun Economic and Technological Development Zone, accelerating the formation of a cluster effect within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

The establishment of these leading enterprises has enhanced Gaochun’s urban competitiveness and has also positioned Gaochun as a vital showcase of Nanjing’s strength.

Building a Strong Industrial District Requires Action

In the past, the Gaochun District Committee championed the slogan “Strengthening the District Through Industry,” calling for a shift away from county-level and suburban mindsets to proactively elevate the district’s development perspective and undertake a profound restructuring of its industrial layout.

This has never been merely a slogan; as a “region of action,” Gaochun is striving to redouble its efforts and achieve major breakthroughs in project attraction. Currently, with the local government daring to pioneer and enterprises daring to act, Gaochun is brimming with a strong “economic drive.”

With a total investment of 5 billion yuan and a Phase I site covering 145 mu, the No. 1 factory building of Jiangsu Huabo Electronic Glass officially commenced operations last December.

It is understood that this is the only new-generation display enterprise in China with one-stop R&D and manufacturing capabilities for 4A electronic cover glass, touch panel (TP), full lamination, and complete devices.

It was precisely with the support of leaders at all levels of the Gaochun District Party Committee and District Government that the Huabo transitional factory project achieved the “Huabo Speed”—going from signing the contract to production in just two months.

“The business environment is highly conducive to investment—this is something our company has experienced firsthand.” This is the assessment of Gaochun Economic Development Zone by Leo Electronics (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

In 2018, through the introduction of Guchuan United, this company successfully signed an agreement to establish operations in the Gaochun Economic Development Zone. It primarily engages in the production and manufacturing of automotive parts. By September 2021, it had already commenced production, achieving an annual production capacity of 12 million units (sets) that same year.

The company’s technical director noted that since production began, they have come to appreciate Gaochun’s high-quality business environment even more. Some preferential policies were proactively communicated to them, and each enterprise is supported by an “on-site liaison.”

Regarding this, Dong Chuanchuan, Executive Vice President of GuChuan United, remarked at the Gaochun project signing ceremony that when the GuChuan investment promotion team coordinated with the Gaochun investment promotion team, their professional and efficient approach helped investors resolve issues promptly.

Additionally, the Investment Promotion Service Office has implemented top-down standards for self-service capabilities, providing online, streamlined, and digitalized follow-up for enterprises to promptly address bottlenecks and challenges in service delivery.

Today, the Gaochun Economic Development Zone acts as a powerful magnet for investment and business development, attracting a steady stream of high-quality projects.

Behind the smooth commencement of numerous projects lies a “mutual commitment” to joint construction and win-win development between the government and enterprises—a shining “Gaochun model” where service capacity and productivity complement and enhance one another.